it is here that afghanistan's future looks like its past. american control does not extend up to this valley and high on the ridgelines, they found safe havens for al qaeda. they have revealed to cnn they located here al qaeda fighters using the secluded alpine villages for training and planning. in june, hundreds of americans were airlifted in, 9,000 feet up, but they faced fierce resistance and a longer nastier fight than planned. u.s. officials say they killed 120 insurgents and top leaders, many taliban, but several of them arabs linked to al qaeda, damaging their network. yet the clashes revealed that al qaeda for years said to be mostly across the border in pakistan is again a concern, back where they started in afghanistan's hills. we pushed down into the valley, still an insurgent stronghold. high tech american attack helicopters buzzed overhead until militants shot at them from up the valley. >> it is uncharacteristic for the taliban, i know, from around here. they're getting pretty gutsy. right past there, usually our patrols don't